This is Public Service Recognition Week, and the city of Fort Collins is joining other public agencies across the country to celebrate our colleagues and thank them for the great work taking place in the community.

In keeping the lights on, water running and traffic flowing, the city of Fort Collins is a 24/7 organization. Emergency dispatchers, utility crews, snowplow drivers, recreation attendants and so many more report to work at all hours, on weekends and holidays to keep community services running. Our job is to make it easy for you to do your job and life your life — all day, every single day.

City employees know that their jobs contribute to Fort Collins’ high quality of life and they are deeply committed to our mission to provide exceptional services to an exceptional community, and they daily live out our values of collaboration, excellence, integrity, outstanding service, safety and well-being, and stewardship.

In addition to daily operations, my colleagues are also committed to Fort Collins’ future. With strategic leadership and policy guidance from City Council, we are updating City Plan to reflect the community’s vision for the next 20 years.

A new whitewater park and improvements in the River District will further extend downtown’s vibrancy to include the Poudre River. The new voter-approved broadband utility will be a game-changer for Fort Collins, ensuring the whole community has affordable, high-speed internet access. And we are continuing to pursue our climate action goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Their commitment to innovation and continuous improvement is what drives city leaders and staff to set and achieve such ambitious community goals. Without these deeply dedicated, competent co-workers the City could never have achieved our recent Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

I believe that the secret to our success as an organization is that we combine a great culture with great strategy to deliver great results. Having our 2,400 employees grounded in shared values and working toward a common purpose is the foundation of a great culture. Joined with the professional expertise of our city workforce, that enables us to deliver world-class services and results for the community.

I hope you will join me this week in expressing appreciation for the men and women who serve Fort Collins each day. If you have a story to share about your experience with city employees, please send them my way!

Darin Atteberry is the Fort Collins city manager. He can be reached at 970-221-6505 or datteberry@fcgov.com.